Whats your work station

really depends what you want to do with your computer as to what you need

i built a computer as well, just way cheaper and better than something like an alienware.

Computer:
-sabertooth 990fx R2.0 mobo
-AMD FX-8350 4GHz 8 core processor (liquid cooled)
- Nvidia 750gtx (absolutely need an nvidia card if you use adobe products, CUDA is great!)
- 16gb ddr3 ram
-650 watt modular power supply (modular is great! easy cable management and allows you to expand later)
- 120 gb solid state primary hardrive
- 500 gb secondary drive
- 3 tb external drive

with the case it cost me about $1200 ish Canadian, and i would highly recommend.

as far as monitors go you pretty much need at least 2, you can manage on one but it is pretty limiting

i also have a pair of wireless headphones, roomates get kinda mad if you play the same part of a song over and over and over while you are trying to sync

hope that helps!

If possible, get 6-8 cores. I only have 4 cores but it still renders out pretty fast so it's not the end of the world if you don't have the money for one. Go with an IPS monitor rather than like a TN or LED monitor. I've only been using one and I mean it gets the job done but I'm not willing to drop another 400 on the same monitor. I use the Bose Companion 2 speaker set and they work pretty good for music listening and just standard speaker output. As far as editing headphones go, I've got the AudioTechnica ath-m50s. Those are amazing and are must. Keyboard and mouse don't matter too much but just make sure they are comfortable.

My computer tears through editing and never seems to have a struggle.
i5-3570k, watercooled by an h100i and overclocked to a conservative 4.2Ghz
AsRock Z77 Pro 3 mobo
16gb 1600mhz Corsair LP RAM (overclocked, can't restart my computer right now)
Gtx 760 3gb, (overclocked to something, I'll check later)
EVGA 670 PSU
WD 3tb harddrive
Windows 8.1

Hope some of my knowledge helps.

I use mine for video and cad, everything is Adobe and solidworks.

I7 3930k 6 core/12 thread @ 4.4ghz with a noctua dh-14
32gb 2400mhz corsair vengeance
Asus p9x79 ws
GTX970 sc
2 120gb 850 pros in raid 0 for system
2 120gb 850 pros in raid 1 for media
100gb ocz pcie ssd for scratch
2 3tb wd blacks in raid 1 back for data/ backing up the media drive
800w corsair AXi PSU
4 120mm case fans
Fractal design define r4

BlackcountryBillI use mine for video and cad, everything is Adobe and solidworks.

I7 3930k 6 core/12 thread @ 4.4ghz with a noctua dh-14
32gb 2400mhz corsair vengeance
Asus p9x79 ws
GTX970 sc
2 120gb 850 pros in raid 0 for system
2 120gb 850 pros in raid 1 for media
100gb ocz pcie ssd for scratch
2 3tb wd blacks in raid 1 back for data/ backing up the media drive
800w corsair AXi PSU
4 120mm case fans
Fractal design define r4

Oh, and a 28" 4k dell ultrasharp and a 24" dell 1080 ultrasharp both calibrated with a spider

my current workstation is:

computer : Mac Pro
3.5ghz 6 core
16 DDR3 RAM (upgrading to 32gb in the next month)
256GB flash
Dual AMD firepro D500 GPU with 3gb vram each

audio: Klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers and Sony studio monitoring headphones

monitor: LG 31 inch Digital Cinema 10bit 4k led

Mines custom built:
i7 2600k @4.7ghz custom liquid cooled
asus gtx 770 dcu2
16gb dominator platinum 1866mhz
550w seasonic g psu
1 240gb adata ssd (os and programs)
1 1tb hdd (games)
1 500gb hdd (scratch disk)
asus pb278q 1440p monitor
I store all my media on a nas with 2tb of space so I can access all my movies and pictures and things from anywhere in the world

Rdwagner2my current workstation is:

computer : Mac Pro
3.5ghz 6 core
16 DDR3 RAM (upgrading to 32gb in the next month)
256GB flash
Dual AMD firepro D500 GPU with 3gb vram each

audio: Klipsch promedia 2.1 speakers and Sony studio monitoring headphones

monitor: LG 31 inch Digital Cinema 10bit 4k led

this is more of the setup i was looking at just because i really like the ios software. how do you like this setup? any problems at all?

Right now, a mac pro (currently for sale on here)

2x quad core 2.8ghz xeons
24gb ram
250gb Samsung 840 evo for boot/current work
1tb RAID 0 (dual 500gb wd black hdd's)
MSI GTX 660 2gb Twin Froze (for dat CUDA)
Added USB 3 for doing backups/storage on external, pretty good if you don't have thunderbolt

For a monitor, I have an LG 25UM65 (pretty sure that's the one). 25" 21:9 2560x1080. Awesome monitor, the size/aspect ratio is good for getting things done, and it looks great.

Unfortunately I need a laptop, otherwise I would keep this. A good alternative would be a 5K iMac if you have the budget, or an X99 build if you need some serious power.

stock macbook pro 2012
8gbs ram
1tb hdd

woo?

I really like my setup. I do a ton of traveling for work and the new Mac Pro is great because I can fit it in a pelican very easily. if you want a workstation that you aren't going to travel or move around much I would build a hackintosh of you know anything about computers.

Rdwagner2I really like my setup. I do a ton of traveling for work and the new Mac Pro is great because I can fit it in a pelican very easily. if you want a workstation that you aren't going to travel or move around much I would build a hackintosh of you know anything about computers.

I wouldn't say go hackintosh. They can be figgity at times due to some gpu updates. If you're going with OSX, just go full out Mac.

CameraWizI wouldn't say go hackintosh. They can be figgity at times due to some gpu updates. If you're going with OSX, just go full out Mac.

If it's just for fun, mackintosh/dual boot. If it's your job and you need the stability/support, then I agree.

I've got a 2014 MacBook Pro
2.8Ghz quad core i7
16gb ddr3 Memory
1tb SSD storage
1tb External hard drive
A sweet pair of vmoda m100s

Im currently looking to buy a monitor, any tips for something fairly cheap?

MLJI've got a 2014 MacBook Pro
2.8Ghz quad core i7
16gb ddr3 Memory
1tb SSD storage
1tb External hard drive
A sweet pair of vmoda m100s

Im currently looking to buy a monitor, any tips for something fairly cheap?

What size monitor are you looking at? You can get some nice LG ips monitors for $200 or under.

CameraWizI wouldn't say go hackintosh. They can be figgity at times due to some gpu updates. If you're going with OSX, just go full out Mac.

If you get a nvidia card it's no problem.


OP:
I got a custom desktop (sold it this summer) a little over 2 years ago. Specs were: 3930k 6 core i7 3.2ghz (over clocked up to 4 at times) with 32gb of ram, GTX 660ti 120gb ssd boot.

It was $1700 total. Less than half the price for the comparable mac pro.

I ran hackintosh for the majority of its life and the guy I sold it to is still using it with osx. Hackintosh's are very reliable these days.